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lilamaru, I'll send you an email, but you may also get more responses here if you start a new thread in the Health & Medical section. It sounds like your dog has a serious medical problem that needs to be worked up further.

Space aggression and defensive behavior has nothing to do with dominance or needing leadership. It's about mutual trust and respect. I agree with silverfish about the Leerburg site.

Dogs will become a lot more tolerant of close handling after they have settled in and had a chance to fully bond and learn to trust you. Think about it like getting intimate with a friend. You may get along really well with a new acquaintance, but not want to be hugged or touched by them until you've gotten to know them a lot better. I usually advise new adopters to respect their dog's space and not to approach to give affection when the dog is lying down at least for the first few weeks. A dog who is lying down and trying to rest or sleep may not be in the mood for attention and affection. Especially in the beginning, it's much safer to allow the dog to approach to solicit attention when he's ready, or call the dog over to you if you want to initiate an interaction. With my fosters or new dogs, I initially don't approach them at all when they are lying down. After they've settled in and are acting relaxed and comfortable, I'll calmly approach and sit down next to them while they are lying down. I sit down with my side to the dog, and closer to their side or back end, rather than directly in front of them. I also take care to never lean over them, which can be seen as an intimidating gesture. If the dog still seems relaxed, I'll reach over and gently rub their body (ie. thigh, side, or shoulder) briefly. If the dog is showing signs of enjoying the contact - staying relaxed, rolling over, pawing, nudging, etc, I'll continue petting. If the dog seems uncomfortable or indifferent - calming signals or no reaction, I'll praise for the brief contact and leave them alone for that session. With my own dogs, I can approach while they're lying down, snuggle and 'spoon' then, use them as a pillow, and they are fine. But I didn't even attempt any of that until I'd had them for months or longer. And I still always pay attention to body language as I'm approaching to make sure they're ok with the interaction. Just like people, dogs can have bad moods and 'off' days, and just because they're usually ok with a certain interaction doesn't mean they will always be ok with it.

Most of the factors regarding whether you should give Lester a second chance, and whether the group will even allow you to do that have already been covered, but I just wanted to address this one point: Are you familiar with the more subtle signals, often called calming signals, that dogs show when they are uncomfortable or stressed? Many of these signals are easy to miss if you're not specifically looking for them, and it's possible that Lester was showing you that he didn't like it, just not in an obvious way. If you're completely sure Lester was awake when you approached him on his bed, then it probably wasn't sleep startle, but a matter of him being uncomfortable with the close contact. If his more subtle signals were not effective in communicating his discomfort, he may have just gotten too overwhelmed and lashed out. Whether you try again with Lester, or for future reference with another dog, I'd recommend learning to recognize calming signals. The link below is a good starting point. http://www.greenacreskennel.com/dog-behavior-and-training/canine-calming-signals-and-stress

I think it might be interesting to try to explore the cause of this behavior more fully. It seems that most people buy into the explanation of 'eliminating the weak member of the pack'. If it was an instinct to get rid of pack members that are a liability due to being weak, then old, injured, and sick dogs would be routinely dispatched, but we don't typically see that. Silverfish's theory is interesting and makes sense from the noise aspect, but doesn't support the 'weakest link' theory since a screaming dog isn't necessarily weak, or even truly injured. And as Sambuca mentioned, seizing dogs that don't make noise are attacked too. I'd be curious to know if the seizure dogs that get attacked have seizures where they thrash around, or if the ones that just lie still and tense up get attacked too? The only incidence of this that I've personally witnessed happened in my backyard earlier this year. My 9-month-old (at the time) whippet puppy got a little overwhelmed while being chased by one of my greyhounds and started screaming as she ran. This triggered my greyhound foster to go after her, in turn triggering my own greyhounds to join in. From what I could see in the chaos, it seemed like the screaming and running triggered the instinct to chase, which turned into trying to grab and catch prey. They were mostly biting at her back and hindquarters, not her face or muzzle. Anyone else have experiences and observations to share on what the actual trigger for these events seemed to be? Maybe we should move this to a thread of it's own?

This phenomenon is quite scary, but not unusual. In larger groups of dogs, this instinct can trigger the entire pack to attack the one that is screaming. I know one of the common explanations for this type of behavior is that it is due to an instinct to eliminate the weakest member of the pack, but personally, I think it has more to do with the screaming and flailing triggering an instinctive prey drive. Triggers usually include screaming and struggling, or seizure activity. Once the 'victim' dog is back to normal, it's usually not a problem. One of the reasons I don't think it's due to wanting to eliminate the weakest link is because dogs don't tend to attack old, weak dogs that gradually decline due to age and illness. This seems to be more of an acutely triggered response to screaming and sudden, irregular activity like seizures.

Wonderful tribute to an amazing dog. I'm sorry I never got to meet him. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.

Glad it seems to be clearing up. Would still be a good idea to keep an eye on the area.

If it was caused by rubbing from the bootie, I would have expected to see some improvement after a week. Waiting to see a photo, but lesions that look like blood blisters can also be benign hemangiomas or malignant hemangiosarcomas. If still not improving after another week or so, would be a good idea to have your vet look at it.

How long has it been since you stopped using the bootie?

Sounds like regurgitation, which is 'spitting up' the contents of the esophagus, rather than vomiting, which comes from the stomach. A couple of my dogs do it occasionally, mostly after they drink a lot after running around outside. If it's occasional, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If it happens a lot, especially if you start to see any food in it, that could indicate a problem with esophageal function and should be checked out by your vet.

Glad you're taking her to an internist. While you going for the new problem, I would definitely ask their input on the PLN too. Hope they can give you some answers.

I usually dose enalapril at 0.5 mg/kg once or twice daily, but the dose range in Plumb's goes all the way up to 1 mg/kg q 12-24 hours, so 40 mg daily probably still falls in that range, although on the higher end. Can't remember if kar has ever said how much Snow weighs, but since she's an AKC greyhound, she might be bigger than the average NGA greyhound. And I believe I have a pretty good idea which vet you're referring to.

Just a thought....Snow's vet may be so focused on the proteinuria for the same reason tbhound's vet dispensed enalapril - because the owner is so worried and wants to be proactive about it. Honestly, for a dog whose UPC was consistently under 1-2 for years, I would not be checking it every 3 months.

You mentioned that your vet consulted with a specialist. Have you considered taking Snow to the specialist yourself for a direct consultation, rather than going through your vet? Has the specialist been involved in the recommendations for diet and medications, and how concerned are they about Snow's (urine protein:creatnine) UPC ratios? Looking back, I saw that your original post about Snow being diagnosed with PLN was back in October 2011, and she had a UPC of 0.7 at the time. If the most recent UPC from last month was 1.6, and her bloodwork is all completely normal, her PLN really hasn't progressed much in almost 3 years. One benefit of getting a 2nd opinion is getting a fresh set of eyes on the matter. It's possible that Snow's intermittent appetite isn't related to her PLN at all. Has she lost weight? If not, and she's eating enough to maintain, her appetite issues could even be behavioral. Sometimes getting too worried about a dog's eating habits, and making a big deal out of mealtimes, can cause the dog to get stressed and not want to eat.

Unfortunately, based on the bloodwork, it looks like she's in kidney failure. The only thing you can really do is try to treat the symptoms and see if you can get her feeling better. What is your vet suggesting? I'd ask if they want to make any adjustments to her pain meds, and see if they even want you try a kidney diet. IV fluids might help her feel better, but she'd have to be hospitalized for at least a day or two for that. I'd also consider nausea/stomach meds as she's probably not eating well due to the effects of the elevated kidney levels.

I second the question about BUN level and would also want to know her phosphorus and electrolytes. Also urinalysis results, especially the specific gravity. I've seen levels that high, but the dogs are usually very, very sick with other bloodwork abnormalities. Has she had any vomiting?

Low protein and phosphorus are only needed if the dog actually has chronic renal failure. I don't think we've seen anything to indicate that Snow is at that point. Please seek a second opinion as so many others have suggested.

I'd have to agree with the others who have mentioned that the previously posted bloodwork results do *not* indicate renal failure, and she only has *mild* proteinuria. I'm not convinced she really needs to be on a prescription kidney diet. As tbhounds mentioned, her enalapril dose is pretty high. One of the potential side effects of enalapril is decreased appetite, so I'd consider talking to the vet about reducing her dose to see if that helps with her appetite. Also, has her ongoing issue with not eating well on and off caused any weight loss? How is her current weight? If her weight has remained stable, and she's always been a picky eater, I honestly wouldn't be too concerned about her intermittent appetite, especially if you've mostly been trying to get her to eat a food she really doesn't like. Feed her what she likes and see if she starts eating more consistently.

Regarding the OP's question about combo products, I think it really depends on the individual dog, the comfort level of the owner, as well as the specific product. Some "combo products" like Revolution only have a single active ingredient. Most (not all) of the combined meds are still available in their separate forms. If an owner is worried about reactions, I usually have them do separate products first. That way if the dog does have a problem, it's easier to figure out which medication caused it. But most dogs that do well with separate products are also fine with the separate products given the same day, or an equivalent combo product. If the pet lives in an area where both heartworm and flea/tick medication are best given year-round, and the dog handles the meds well, I have no problem with combo meds.

It almost sounds like they're trying to bad-mouth Novartis by saying they can't ship to the use because of "pressure from the manufacturer in trying to protect their local market". IMO, that doesn't really make sense since the international products are also made by the same manufacturer, and the company itself stands to profit from sales regardless of where the product originates. I do find it concerning that they can sell it without a prescription, especially since the milbemycin-based HW preventatives can cause serious reactions in dogs that are HW positive and have large numbers of microfilaria. Can't speak for Australia, but in the US, I feel that these are prescription products for good reason. Personally, I'd be more concerned about the responsibility and ethics of selling prescription products without a prescription, even if they're able to do it legally through regulatory loopholes.

Gabapentin works on nerve pain, so it addresses pain differently than opioids or NSAIDS. Many people notice a remarkable improvement in pain control after adding gabapentin. I agree with trying to avoid other NSAIDS since she had a bad reaction to Metacam. But if unable to manage her pain adequately with the other meds, I'd talk to your vet about trying a different NSAID at a low dose.

I agree completely. The only exceptions are if the dog is old, sick, or taking medication that suppresses appetite.

One situation where I do recommend cutting down on freebies is if the dog is overweight. I find there are many people who give treats 'just because' who then can't resist giving their dog a treat every time the dog begs. I agree that if the dog is behaving politely, they are technically earning their treat. That's the main reason I have my dogs sit before they are given treats, and they all sit automatically, without being asked, for the most part.

Active ingredients may be the same as Frontline, but the inactive ingredients and carrier are different. I've had clients who tried it and reported that it didn't work as well as Frontline. And just as an FYI, the s-methoprene in Frontline Plus kills flea eggs to break the life cycle. Fipronil kills fleas and ticks but does not repel either.